The U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) continued its year-plus string of rate hikes on Wednesday, lifting the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to a targeted range of 5%-5.25%.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) held steady in the immediate aftermath of the news, trading at about $28,600.

The Fed's move was widely expected, but investors and traders were looking to the accompanying policy statement and Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference (beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET) for clues about whether the central bank was mulling a pause after an historic run of rate hikes that's taken the fed funds rate from 0% in early 2022 to today's 5%-5.25%.

The policy statement was notable for leaving out prior language that suggested continuing rate hikes were a certainty. The statement did take note of "tighter credit conditions" as weighing on the economy going forward, and said the FOMC will "take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments."

(by James Rubin)